Dear Dr. Stuart,
Could you please consider Kitty Sueâs article (of Politics and insights.) The article is as follows:

Authoritarian UK government is funding military grade psyops to smear and calumniate HMâs opposition

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POLITICS AND INSIGHTS

Authoritarian UK government is funding military grade psyops to smear and calumniate HMâs opposition
Written by Kitty S Jones
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From the governmentâs ALLIED JOINT DOCTRINE FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL OPERATIONS WITH UK NATIONAL ELEMENTS, SEPTEMBER 2014 .

On page X of the document, it says: âNATO definition of PSYOPS. Allied Administrative Publication (AAP)-06 defines psychological operations as: planned activities using methods of communication and other means directed at approved audiences in order to influence perceptions, attitudes and behaviour,affecting the achievement of political and military objectives.â

On page IX, this footnote â âThe term information strategy (its concept and definition) is not yet endorsed through official NATO policy. Its use here [in the UK], however, reflects current thinking on this subject and is coherent with current policy and doctrine initiatives in areas such as the effects-based approach, strategic communications and information operations.â

Nudging democracy

Psychological operations (PSYOP) are operations to convey selected information and indicators to audiences to manage perceptions, to influence their emotions, motives, and objective reasoning, and ultimately the behaviours of organizations, groups, and individuals.

Government plans to monitor and influence internet communications, and covertly infiltrate online communities in order to sow dissension and disseminate false information, have long been the source of speculation.

In June 2015, NSA files published by Glenn Greenwald revealed details of the JTRIG group at British intelligence agency GCHQ covertly manipulating online communities. This is in line with JTRIGâs goal: to âdestroy, deny, degrade [and] disruptâ enemies by âdiscreditingâ them, planting misinformation and shutting down their communications.

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Harvard Law Professor Cass Sunstein, [co-author of âNudgeâ], a close political adviser and the White Houseâs former head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, wrote a highly controversial paper in 2008 proposing that the US government employ teams of covert agents and pseudo-independent advocates to âcognitively infiltrateâ online groups and websites, as well as other activist groups.

Sunstein also proposed sending covert agents into âchat rooms, online social networks, or even real-space groupsâ which spread what he views as false and damaging âconspiracy theoriesâ about the government. Ironically, the very same Sunstein was recently named by Obama to serve as a member of the NSA review panel created by the White House, one that â while disputing key NSA claims â proceeded to propose many cosmetic reforms to the agencyâs powers (most of which were ignored by the President who appointed them).

But the GCHQ documents are the first to prove that a major western government is using some of the most controversial techniques to disseminate deception online and harm the reputations of targets. Under the tactics they use, the state is deliberately spreading lies on the internet about whichever individuals it targets, including the use of what GCHQ itself calls âfalse flag operationsâ and emails to peopleâs families and friends.

Who would possibly trust a government to exercise these powers at all, let alone do so in secret, with virtually no oversight, and outside of any cognizable legal framework?

Now, inevitably, politicians and academics have reacted with fury to news that a covert Government-funded unit has been systematically and strategically attacking the official opposition in Parliament, undermining democracy in the UK.

Last month, Anonymous Europe obtained a large number of documentsrelating to the activities of the âIntegrity Initiativeâ project, which was launched back in autumn, 2015. The project is funded by the British government and is believed to have been established by the Institute for Statecraft.

The Institute for Statecraft is affiliated with the NATO HQ Public Diplomacy Division and the Home Office-funded âPreventâ programme, among other things. Statecraftâs Security Economics director, Dr Shima D Keene, collaborated with John A. S. Ardis on a paper about information warfare. Anonymous published the documents, which have unearthed the massive UK-led psyop to create a âlarge-scale information secret serviceâ in Europe, the US and Canada.

The declared goal of the project is to âcounteract Russian propagandaâ and Moscowâs hybrid warfare (a military strategy that employs political warfare and blends conventional warfare, irregular warfare and cyberwarfare with other influencing methods, such as fake news, diplomacy, lawfare and foreign electoral intervention).

The Integrity Initiative consists of representatives of political, military, academic and journalistic communities with the think tank in London at the head of it. The Institute for Statecraft was set up, and is currently led by Chris Donnelly (who, prior to his joining NATO in 1989, was for 20 years at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst) and Daniel Lafayeedney (whose military service, legal background and career as an entrepreneur have led him to an âunderstanding of the importance of the link between business and national security.â) They are supported by a Board of Trustees, Board of Advisers, an Operations Staff, a Strategic Development Team and an extensive network of like minded Fellows, associates and researchers.

Defending disinformation against democracy

The UK defines strategic communication (StratCom) as: âadvancing national interests by using all Defence means of communication to influence the attitudes and behaviours of people. It is an MOD-level function that seeks to align words, images and actions by taking direction and guidance from the National Security Council and developing a Strategic Communication Actions and Effects Framework to guide targeting and planning activities.â

âInfo Ops is a staff function that analyzes, plans, assesses and integrates information activities to create desired effects on the will, understanding and capability of adversaries, potential adversaries and North Atlantic Council (NAC) approved audiences in support of Alliance mission objectives. PSYOPS, along with other capabilities,
will be coordinated through Info Ops processes guided by the information strategy and within NATOâs StratCom approach.â

In a document dump on November 5, the group exposed the UK-based âIntegrity Initiativeâ. The main stated objective is counter-terrorism, and âto provide a coordinated Western response to Russian disinformation and other elements of hybrid warfare.â The Institute for Statecraft is affiliated with the NATO HQ Public Diplomacy Division and the Home Office-funded âPreventâ programme, so objectivity is, of course, at the forefront of their workâ¦

However, the secret UK Government-funded propaganda unit based in Scotland has also been running a campaign on social media, using posts attacking Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party.

The Institute for Statecraft appears to be a small charity operating from an old Victorian mill in Fife. But the explosive leaked documents, which have been passed to the Sunday Mail, reveal the organisationâs Integrity Initiative is funded with Â£2million of Foreign Office cash and run by military intelligence specialists.

The Conservative group is supposed to counter Russian online propaganda by forming âclustersâ of friendly journalists and âkey influencersâ throughout Europe who use social media to hit back against disinformation.

Thanks for sharing the article, Mohandeer. These activities are all extremely concerning. To the best of my knowledge, the CIA and US military intelligence have been running similar psyops campaigns in the print media, radio, TV and movies for years. I guess it would make sense for them to update their operations for electronic media. I feel gratified to find there are still whistleblowers within these operations who are concerned enough about what they’re seeing to leak the evidence.

Dr. Bramhall,
Do you have any thoughts about the mysterious envelopes several people at Bush’s funeral received, including the Bushs, Obamas and Pences? Ive seen plenty discussion of this from self described patriots but none from people on the “left”.